1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to protective garments and, more specifically, to protective garments worn by an individual to absorb the impact and stop a projectile from penetrating the body of the wearer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bulletproof protective garments or armor are well known for personal use by human beings to prevent a projectile from penetrating the body of an individual. Such garments are typically made from a plurality of plates formed of metallic or other suitable material which are fastened together in some manner to fit around the body of the wearer and in particular his upper torso.
Examples of such known bulletproof garments include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,787,449 and 3,829,899, both of which disclose protective armor in the form of a vest made of sheets of heavy gauge material. A pocket is formed in the sheets to removably receive a metal insert plate to increase the protective capabilities of the armor. The insert plate is formed of a number of edge-to-edge aligned plates disposed in two vertically extending rows with the joints between the plates covered by a series of third plates. Such an arrangement makes the metal insert plate flexible enough to bend transversely to the plane of the joints so as to fit about the body of the wearer in a vertical plane.
Another form of bullet proof armor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,214. This bulletproof armor construction comprises a plurality of alternating layers of rigid plates and elastic material. Each layer of plate is formed of a plurality of individual segments with joints between the segments offset from layer to layer.
These patents show that it is well known to form bulletproof armor with flexible plates which flex or hinge to conform to the curvature of the torso of the wearer along one plane, i.e. up and down. However, problems still exist with their use as regarding the mobility of the individual wearing the bulletproof armor. The prior art uses rigid plates arranged for flexing or hinging along one plane so as to conform to the body of the wearer along that particular plane. However, the torso of a human being curves in both the vertical and horizontal planes. Thus, the provision of rigid plates that can flex along only one plane does nothing for conforming the shape of the bulletproof vest or armor to the shape of the human torso along the other plane, i.e. from side-to-side. The plates along this other plane are rigid and extend substantially straight along the vest which reduces the mobility of the individual wearing the protective garment since the garment does not closely conform to the shape of the human being along this plane. In addition, such a bulletproof armor construction fails to provide for a close fit for a wide variety of different sized wearers.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a protective plate assembly for individual use which overcomes the problems associated with prior art bulletproof protective garments and armor. It would also be desirable to provide a protective plate assembly which conforms to the shape of the upper torso of a human being along both the horizontal and vertical planes. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a protective plate assembly which does not hinder the movement of the wearer so as to provide increased mobility therefore.